Under Armour Brings Out The Prospects

With spring on the horizon, the off-season combines are starting to wind down in the state of Florida. With Rivals hosting their event at Doral Academy in south Florida, it was time for many across the state to gets some recognition as they flocked to West Orange High School in Winter Garden for the Under Armour Football Combine Series. They came from south Florida, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Pensacola and so many other hotbeds across the Sunshine State. The competition was once again impressive as the best rising seniors (2022) got together with so many quality underclassmen to gain some recognition. For many of these quality football players, this was their first event like this in over a year – with the pandemic taking control and preventing so any gifted young man from getting that valuable exposure. <strong>MAJOR TALENT ON HAND</strong> Those who made their way to this community west of Orlando had the chance to see those star-rated athletes that many have hyped up in all the classes. Because of the lack of exposure opportunities, many analysts on hand were actually watching many of the Class of 2023 (rising juniors) and Class of 2024 (rising sophomores) for the very first time. All the attention was indeed paid to prospects such as Lakeland Lake Gibson Class of 2022 athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="49990" first="Sam" last="McCall"] </strong>(FSU commitment), Class of 2023 running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127998" first="Richard" last="Young"]</strong> (Lehigh), West Orange High's 6-5 Class of 2022 receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50211" first="Jayden" last="Gibson"]</strong>, Ocoee defensive tackle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="111560" first="Jordan" last="Phillips"]</strong>, Orlando Boone offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50248" first="Leyton" last="Nelson"]</strong>, Lakeland Kathleen RB <strong>Jordan Gant</strong>, Tampa Carrollwood Day lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="49996" first="Brandon" last="Cleveland"]</strong>, a one-time University of Miami commitment, and his teammate, offensive lineman, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128059" first="Clay" last="Wedin"].</strong> Lakeland Lake Gibson's versatile and highly-rated Class of 2023 standout <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127996" first="Cormani" last="McClain"]</strong> looked very good. So was versatile (DE/TE) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128029" first="Gavin" last="Hill"]</strong> from Gainesville Buchholz and Pensacola Pine Forest defensive linemen <strong>Elijahh Douglas</strong>. Also, prospects such as defensive backs <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50027" first="Jaylin" last="Marshall"] </strong>(Arizona State commit) and <strong>Edric Weldon</strong> from Hallandale also took plenty of the spotlight. FSU Class of 2022 receiver commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50078" first="Devaughn" last="Mortimer"]</strong> and former FSU commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128013" first="Cedric" last="Baxter"] Jr</strong>., a gifted Class of 2023 prospect from Orlando Edgewater were also showcasing their many skills. <strong>BELOW THE RADAR NO MORE</strong> In addition to the star-quality prospects that everyone knew about and came to see, the combine also put the spotlight on some of the prospects who are trying to jump on the radar as well. There were some gifted Class of 2022 athletes, looking for some additional recognition- and there were those who truly made a lasting impression: <strong>La'Montrae Banks, DL, Valrico Bloomingdale</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50295" first="D'Mon" last="Brinson"], DB, Fort Lauderdale Dillard</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50140" first="C.J." last="Brooks"], QB, Orlando Olympia</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50142" first="Julian" last="Calvez"], QB, Orlando Jones</strong> <strong>Justin Doll, S, Hallandale</strong> <strong>Damarion Escort, RB, Venice</strong> <strong>Wayne Favors III, DB, Miami Carol City</strong> <strong>Dominic Fusca, LB, West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50149" first="Logan" last="Hackett"], QB. Lakeland Lake Gibson</strong> <strong>Tyler Huff, QB, Winter Garden West Orange</strong> <strong>Romello Jones, RB, Plant City</strong> <strong>Waymond Jordan, RB, Pensacola Escambia</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="111522" first="Josiah" last="Lancaster"], OL, Plant City</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50000" first="Tony" last="Livingston"], TE, Tampa Carrollwood Day</strong> <strong>Mike Lucien, DB, Hollywood Surge Academy</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50061" first="Kobe" last="McCloud"], LB, Tampa Gaither</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50281" first="Tiwan" last="McCloud"], S, Hallandale</strong> <strong>Ghana Oboh, RB, Miami Central</strong> <strong>Timothy Passmore, DL, Cocoa</strong> <strong>Jayshon Platt, WR, Venice</strong> <strong>Logan Ridolph, OL, Wesley Chapel Wiregrass Ranch</strong> <strong>Javan Robinson, DB, Winter Garden West Orange</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="111457" first="Johntarrious" last="Thomas"], RB, Gadsden County</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50267" first="Justin" last="Wallace"], DL, Hallandale</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128060" first="Elliott" last="Washington"] II, DB, Venice</strong> <strong>Jeremy West, DL, Daytona Beach Seabreeze </strong> Many of the Prep Redzone Class of 2023 players (<a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/04/updated-2023-florida-rankings/">https://prepredzone.com/2021/04/updated-2023-florida-rankings/</a>) were also making some noise on Sunday. Among those include: <strong>Anthony Bridgewater, RB, Rockledge</strong> <strong>Stanley Crooks, DL, Hawthorne</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128078" first="Anthony" last="Famularo Jr"]., LB, Kissimmee Osceola</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128579" first="Christopher" last="Ficka"], DL, Winter Garden West Orange</strong> <strong>Landon Hale, DB, Yulee</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128050" first="Grayson" last="Howard"], LB, Jacksonville Andrew Jackson</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128321" first="Keyone" last="Jenkins"], QB, Miami Central</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127501" first="Bryson" last="Martin"], QB, Clearwater Central Catholic</strong> <strong>William Mascoe, DB, Kissimmee Osceola</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128599" first="Matthew" last="McQueen"], OL, Tallahassee Lawton Chiles</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128600" first="Ryan" last="Mickow"], OL, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128544" first="Luke" last="Petitta"], TE, Sarasota Riverview</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128409" first="Rhyder" last="Poppell"], RB, Tallahassee Maclay</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128513" first="Tastean" last="Reddicks"], WR, Deerfield Beach</strong> <strong>Calvin Smith, DE, Ocoee</strong> <strong>Tyrek Tripp, OL, Clearwater</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128015" first="Devin" last="Williams"], DL, Brooksville Hernando</strong> Even the Class of 2024 (rising sophomores) and a few eight graders (Class of 2025) brought their best to West Orange High for the event. Prospects who are starting to turn heads: <strong>2025 – Davi Belfort, QB, West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman</strong> <strong>2024 – Chauncey Bowens, RB, North Palm Beach Benjamin</strong> <strong>2024 – [player_tooltip player_id="128093" first="Sincere" last="Edwards"], DE, Apopka Wekiva</strong> <strong>2024 – Frederick Gaskin III, DB, Ocala Vanguard</strong> <strong>2024 – Jake Guarnera, OL, Ponte Vedra</strong> <strong>2024 – Antoine Jackson, DB, Fort Lauderdale Dillard</strong> <strong>2024 – Semaj Jackson, DB, Fort Lauderdale NSU University School</strong> <strong>2024 – Joshua Lloyd, DL, Deerfield Beach</strong> <strong>2025 - Damien Pickett Jr, DB, Tampa Carrollwood Day</strong> <strong>2024 – Michael Merdinger, QB, Deerfield Beach</strong> <strong>2024 – Peter Pesansky, DL, Tampa Jesuit</strong> <strong>2024 – Jordan Pride, DB, Blountstown</strong> <strong>2024 – Dantre Robinson, DL, Orlando Edgewater</strong> <strong>2024 – Terrell Spruill, DL, Rockledge</strong> <strong>2024 – Dylan Stephenson, DL, Miami Killian</strong> <strong>2025 – Taevion Swint, RB, Kissimmee Osceola</strong> <strong>2024 – Johisa Trader, WR, Miami Monsignor Pace</strong> <strong><em>You Can Contact [player_tooltip player_id="111610" first="Larry" last="Blustein"] with prospect or team information at: Floridakids1@aol.com. We are also on Social Media on @PrepRedzonefl.</em></strong>